Grünfeld Defence
D80 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5
Let White build a centre, then shoot at it from the side.
Analysing from a photo?
This page needs a FEN or a board you set up by hand. The app reads a position straight from a photograph of a real board or a screenshot, and keeps your saved positions between sessions.
The idea
Black plays d5 after a kingside fianchetto, inviting cxd5 Nxd5 and then the exchange of knights, which gives White a broad pawn centre. Black's compensation is pressure on that centre from the bishop on g7 and the c-file, and the game becomes a direct argument about whether a large centre is strong or a target.
Typical plans
- As Black, attack d4 with c5 and Bg7, and pile up on the c-file.
- As Black, provoke d5 and then blockade, leaving White's centre static and weak.
- As White, support the centre with Be3, Rc1 and Qd2, and use the space to attack.
What goes wrong
- As Black, exchanging pieces without hitting the centre, which leaves White's pawns simply strong.
- As White, advancing the centre before it is fully supported.
- Both sides: this is one of the sharpest openings in chess and moves cannot be guessed.
Using the board above
The board starts at the position after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5. Play the continuation you normally meet, then ask the engine what it would do. That is more useful than reading a line, because it answers the question you actually have, which is what happens in the position you keep reaching.
One caution worth carrying into it: an engine evaluates an opening on the assumption that both sides then play perfectly. A line rated a tenth of a pawn better whose middlegames you have never played is worth less to you than a line rated slightly worse that produces positions you understand. More on that here.